


I'm Tumbling For You

by canicallyoumaddie



Category: Voltron: Legendary Defender
Genre: Fanboys - Freeform, Innuendo, M/M, Strong Language, They both follow an artist and scream at each other and then fall in love, Tumblr AU, alcohol mention, alcohol use, pidge is nb
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2017-09-06
Updated: 2017-09-06
Packaged: 2018-12-23 01:37:05
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 10,637
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/11979366
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/canicallyoumaddie/pseuds/canicallyoumaddie
Summary: Keith and Lance have been following the same artist for a while, but finally decided they wanted to get to know each other better and started to PM each other. Many flirts later, things start to getreal. ( ͡° ͜ʖ ͡°)





	I'm Tumbling For You

**Author's Note:**

> Sup, pals. It feels like it's been forever (and it has...) but this is a fic that I wrote for my lovely lady (@shavothehusky on tumblr). It's a one-shot, and definitely ran away from me, but I think it's pretty cute, and I hope you all enjoy! <3
> 
> thanks to @skyesentinels on tumblr for being my beta!
> 
> Additional note: I renamed the fic because I couldn't come up with a proper title until now, and reduced the rating, BUT just know the alternate title is just  
> "( ͡° ͜ʖ ͡°)" because...ya know. It's me.

****littleboyblue** **  
So...you’re into robots, too. ;D

 **redlikerage**  
Yeah..? I mean...we scream at each other about it like, every time we’re both online...

 **littleboyblue**  
No, i mean…  
red, it was supposed to be a joke. Like, I was using a line.  
I mean, yes, we both know that you’re into robots. I’m into robots. We’re all into robots. That’s the point of Jaz’s stream, right? That’s why we both waste hours and hours on the internet looking at robots.

 **redlikerage**  
Ohh.

 **littleboyblue**  
I mean i figured you were oblivious but...damn, Red lol. I won’t deny that it’s cute though.

 **redlikerage**  
It’s not my fault!

 **littleboyblue**  
Isn’t it though

 **redlikerage**  
...wait i just realized you called me cute.

 **littleboyblue**  
...yeah, was I not supposed to do that?

 **redlikerage**  
Alkhga’klsfj’algsh’fa

 **littleboyblue**  
Okay, keyboard smash...uh.  
You okay?

 **redlikerage**  
Yeah i just had a minor stroke but that’s fine.

 **littleboyblue**  
Wtf what did i do

 **redlikerage**  
Oh no i meAn  
I was just  
You just came out and Called me cute.

 **littleboyblue**  
Because it’s true, doy

 **redlikerage**  
Asdldhfa’seha’sg  
You haven’t even seen me how do you know.

 **littleboyblue**  
You just seem cute

 **redlikerage**  
You know i’m a dude tho right

 **littleboyblue**  
I mean  
Now i do  
Statement still stands

 **redlikerage**  
………………  
So like  
You  
What?

 **littleboyblue**  
…?what  
Bruh have you even looked at my blog  
The whole thing is purple, pink and blue.  
I’m bi as fuck

 **redlikerage**  
Oh  
Cool.

 **littleboyblue**  
...is that like..a problem?

 **redlikerage**  
Oh my god no  
Not a problem, i mean.  
It’s cool  
Great, actually.  
I mean  
Uh.  
Okay.  
That was stupid. Let me backtrack.

 **littleboyblue**  
Are you seriously getting flustered right now?

 **redlikerage**  
nO

 **littleboyblue**  
You’re totally getting flustered omg that’s adorable

 **redlikerage**  
(┛ಠДಠ)┛  
No i’m noT

 **littleboyblue**  
Binch u totally r

 **redlikerage**  
AAAAAAHHHHHHHH

 **littleboyblue**  
This is amazing

 **redlikerage**  
Red.exe has stopped working

 **littleboyblue**  
Oh nuuuuu  
Come backkkkkk  
…  
I bet you’re fucking adorable irl too

 **redlikerage**  
*has stroke*

 **littleboyblue**  
Oh shit ok i gotta go actually friends are going out--ttyl?

 **redlikerage**  
Yeah, ttyl. Have fun!

 **littleboyblue**  
Not as much as i’d have with you ( ͡° ͜ʖ ͡°)

 **redlikerage**  
Motherfucker

 **littleboyblue**  
Pfffffffffffff bye

Lance closed his Tumblr app and immediately flopped onto his bed, screaming into a pillow. 

“Dude...you ok?” Hunk asked, appearing in the doorway to Lance’s room. Lance held up a weak _thumb’s up_ , and listened as Hunk’s heavy steps receded down the hallway. Lance heard a faint, “Okay...well, it's almost time to head out, just fyi,” and buried his face again into the downy marshmallow under his head.

“This boy is going to murder me,” Lance said, unable to repress another scream when his face hit the pillow again. He hadn’t anticipated that sending Red a personal message would make his poor heart pound as hard as it did. But Red had _replied_. _To his message_. He cringed internally when he realized that he was _not_ subtle in his flirts...and hoped that either Red was either too oblivious to notice, or would potentially reciprocate.

Either way, if things went according to plan, things would turn out fine, and they would talk again. 

At the bar, Lance went a little wild with the Snapchat (but let’s be real, he was the King of Snapchat), and decided to send some of his saved snaps to Red. One was a picture of a lineup of rainbow shots with the caption “Get turnt.” Before his brain had time to catch up to what he was doing, the picture was on its way through the internet, flying toward Red’s inbox. 

After a few moments of staring at their conversation, his heart nearly dropped out of his ass. “Oh, _fuck!_ ” He screeched, almost scaring the pants off of Hunk, who had just begun to chat someone up. 

Hunk whirled around, face instantly twisted into a look of concern. “What?? What happened? Are you okay??” He asked, eyebrows knitted together.

“I sent a picture to Red,” Lance wailed, slowly lowering his forehead to the bar in mortification. His face was numb from the alcohol, but that didn’t prevent his embarrassment from turning it bright red. 

“Wait, tumblr guy?” Hunk asked. His face suddenly got very serious. “You didn’t send him a dick pic, did you?” 

Lance’s eyebrows nearly went through the roof and his jaw nearly went through the floor. “GOD, NO!” He had to cough to keep from choking on his own spit. “Seriously, Hunk? That was one time. And I was so drunk I forgot my own name. And number. And who you were.” 

“The guy was an asshole anyway, I mean, dyeing your hair white? What’s up with that?” Hunk replied. “He didn’t deserve a dick pic.”

“HUNK.”

“What? It’s true.” 

Lance kneaded his eyes furiously with his fists until he was interrupted by a notification. Slapping Hunk’s arm, he cried, “ _He answered! Oh god!_ ” Hunk, ever the patient one, apologized and turned away once again from the girl he had been talking to. 

“What did he say?” Hunk asked. 

Lance was too energized to notice his exasperated tone as he shoved his phone in Hunk’s face. “Look!” His face was lit up with excitement like a Christmas tree.

\----

 **redlikerage**  
Pff sounds like a good time. Are those rainbow shots? What liquor they use? Marshmallow vodka? ( ͡° ͜ʖ ͡°) can’t handle the *adult* stuff?

\----

Hunk laughed so hard he snorted and said, “He’s totally making fun of you.” Lance bristled and snatched the phone back. “But like in a flirty way,” Hunk added; he hoped that the additional comment would prevent any competition, but...Lance was Lance.

Typing furiously, he snapped, “Well, two can play that game.”

\----

 **littleboyblue**  
ExcuSE you si r I am a real adult and I will ahve you know that it was reGULAR vodka, thank yoU

\----

Hunk looked over Lance’s shoulder as he typed, and _just barely_ failed to notify Lance of his many typos. “Ummm, bro? You sound super drunk,” he said, recoiling when Lance whirled and buried his head in his arms on the sticky countertop. 

“I _am_ super drunk,” Lance mumbled, heart sinking as he prepared himself to never hear from Red again. 

_Ding_

Lance’s head shot up and he scrambled to unlock his phone. 

\----

 **redlikerage**  
I’m just playing around, I’m glad you’re having a good time :) wish I could be there.

 **littleboyblue**  
Of course you do I am a deliGHT. ;D I hope ur having a nice evning whatever ur doing.

 **redlikerage**  
You know it...just playing video games alone at my apartment. Nothing super fun. It’s fine tho. I’ll let you return to your night.

 **littleboyblue**  
I never said you were bothering me or anything! I like talking to you. Besides, my friendd is chatting up a girl and I’ve already risked cucking that up for him like three times already.

 **redlikerage**  
Oh  
Okay!  
Well, i’m not doing anything interesting atm but...what’s the bar you’re at like?

 **littleboyblue**  
Oh, it’s kind of like a weird club-bar hybrid? Idk I like it, but one of my other friends doesn’t so they don’ t usualy tag a long.

 **redlikerage**  
TBH sounds like one of my friends lol  
They don’t ever want to go out tho  
Someone always ends up calling them “little lady” or whatever and they deck someone in the face.  
It’s hilarious  
But also...we get kicked out so not that hilarious.

 **littleboyblue**  
Oh my god, that sounds exactly like my friend how weird  
But ya so i’m here with my main buddy  
My pal  
My bro  
The girl he’s talking to is hot, i will give him that  
Not my type, but eh  
Totally his

 **redlikerage**  
What IS your type?

 **littleboyblue**  
Hm  
Tall, blonde  
Boobs  
Ya know  
Anddddddddd guys idk, i’ve only met like, two or three that I liked and they were all different. The only continuity was that they were smokin hawtttttt *wink*  
Wbu?

 **redlikerage**  
Oh  
Uh  
Well  
I’m gay, so

 **littleboyblue**  
So?  
QUestion remains:  
What’s your type?

 **redlikerage**  
Oh, uh  
Well, I mean, as long as he’s got a good smile and personality, that’s already a plus in my book, yaknow?  
But, uh...I really like blue eyes for some reason.

 **littleboyblue**  
( ͡° ͜ʖ ͡°)

 **redlikerage**  
….what

 **littleboyblue**  
Ohhhhhh nothing

 **redlikerage**  
No, seriously  
What

 **littleboyblue**  
…:D

 **redlikerage**  
Blue are you wasted?

 **littleboyblue**  
Ya a lil but that’s not related to my ( ͡° ͜ʖ ͡°) faces

 **redlikerage**  
Then what?

**littleboyblue**  
_image.jpeg sent_

**redlikerage**  
………..

 **littleboyblue**  
...now it’s my turn to ask what

 **redlikerage**  
You have blue eyes.

 **littleboyblue**  
Yaboiiiiiiiiiiiiii

 **redlikerage**  
O.o

 **littleboyblue**  
T_T do you not like meeeee

 **redlikerage**  
I’m just low key stunned rn like gimme a min

 **littleboyblue**  
(O//////O) wtf u can’t just say shit like that to me man

 **redlikerage**  
Like  
?????  
You look like THAT???

 **littleboyblue**  
..i’m almost a little offended you didn’t stalk me on my blog  
I tried to find a pic of you and all i found was like a weird overhead shot of a beanie.  
You are an enigma.

 **redlikerage**  
I’m weird.  
See this hat? I always wear this hat. That’s weird.

 **littleboyblue**  
Are you fucking jughead jonesing me rn

 **redlikerage**  
:D

 **littleboyblue**  
Mfking hell

 **redlikerage**  
:D :D :D

 **littleboyblue**  
Stop being cute i’m mad at u

 **redlikerage**  
:o u think i’m cute

 **littleboyblue**  
Red  
We’ve established this  
I think ur cute

 **redlikerage**  
The difference is that I actually *know* you’re cute because you sent me a pic of your face.

 **littleboyblue**  
I can feel it in my bones  
Ur cute

 **redlikerage**  
….  
I almost made a joke, there

 **littleboyblue**  
( ͡° ͜ʖ ͡°) what joke

 **redlikerage**  
Low key inappropes

 **littleboyblue**  
All the more reason to tell me, i’m on the road to blackoutville

 **redlikerage**  
Okay *that’s* concerning

 **littleboyblue**  
Lay it on meeeeeee  
TAAAAKE ONNNN MEEEEEE

 **redlikerage**  
...how many shots did you HAVE?

 **littleboyblue**  
Um  
I’d like to make a persuasion check  
*rolls dice*  
That’s a 15

 **redlikerage**  
*rolls* i got 18, it fails.

 **littleboyblue**  
FuKC  
But rly pls tell me

 **redlikerage**  
*Sigh* GOD FINE  
So  
You said “i feel it in my bones”  
And I was gonna say  
“Are you sure it’s not a specific bone?” ( ͡° ͜ʖ ͡°)

 **littleboyblue**  
Hi  
Yes  
I’d like to offer you my hand in marriage  
Pls  
That was amazing  
You are great and most definitely very cute

 **redlikerage**  
*HURK*

 **littleboyblue**  
Ehehehehehe  
You were talkin bout mah dicc

 **redlikerage**  
FOR THE LOVE OF  
BLUE

 **littleboyblue**  
Yes o/ for the love of me

 **redlikerage**  
You’re a perv, aren’t you

 **littleboyblue**  
*DRAMATIC GASP*  
How dARE

 **redlikerage**  
….

 **littleboyblue**  
I’m not a perv, per se  
More like a  
I don’t have a filter…  
So I just say what my brain tells me to  
:D

 **redlikerage**  
And that’s usually Perry  
Pervy*  
Shit

 **littleboyblue**  
Perry  
But yes, essentially

 **redlikerage**  
Anyone ever tell you you’re nuts?

 **littleboyblue**  
( ͡° ͜ʖ ͡°)

 **redlikerage**  
...mOTHER

 **littleboyblue**  
HA  
I got you again

 **redlikerage**  
I don’t think you got me the FIRST time

 **littleboyblue**  
Bet u wish I DID tho  
*wink wonk*

 **redlikerage**  
O_o

 **littleboyblue**  
Whaaaaaaat  
You think i’m cute  
Don’t deny it  
WHOA OHHHH  
IT’S TOO CLICHE  
I WON’T SAY  
I’M IN LOOOOOVE  
DOO DOO  
DOO DOO

 **redlikerage**  
Sweet baby grapes what is your damage, dude

 **littleboyblue**  
Sweet baby grapes?  
What planet are you from?

 **redlikerage**  
Uh  
I watch a lot of old shows ok

 **littleboyblue**  
I bet you watch golden girls and cRY

 **redlikerage**  
...okay well that’s just not fair.

 **littleboyblue**  
OH MY GODDD  
You’re so soft and squishy  
I’m gonna die

 **redlikerage**  
StoP  
I am an edge lord  
I am not soft!  
I collect knives!  
And hunt *ghosts*  
I’m edgy as fuck

 **littleboyblue**  
Keep telling yourself that, care bear

 **redlikerage**  
I bet you watch the notebook monthly because you need a good cry

 **littleboyblue**  
Excuse me, but the notebook is aMAZIng and everyone needs a good cathartic cry

 **redlikerage**  
How the fuck can you use “cathartic” in a sentence when. You’re hammered?

 **littleboyblue**  
Excuse you i am educated  
I have a deGREE

 **redlikerage**  
Uh huh  
In what

 **littleboyblue**  
Astrophysics, actually

 **redlikerage**  
Oh shit

 **littleboyblue**  
:-*  
Pour one out for the nonbelievers

 **redlikerage**  
I’ll admit that’s pretty fucking impressive

 **littleboyblue**  
I’m not just a pretty face, after all  
:D

 **redlikerage**  
Well i never thought you were JUST a pretty face  
Not just anyone to hold  
( ͡° ͜ʖ ͡°)

 **littleboyblue**  
:O  
RED  
RED WAS THAT

 **redlikerage**  
Gotta goooo ily night :***

 **littleboyblue**  
Wha...wha  
RED WHERE ARE YOU GOING  
Fine  
Bye  
:*  
\-----

Keith could not stop laughing; he had tears springing to his eyes and he could feel his chest constricting from lack of oxygen, but he just couldn’t stop. Blue was just too fucking hilarious. 

It had been a while since he’d laughed this hard, if he was being honest with himself. He hadn’t ever been much of a fandom person, but he’d gotten back into art and everything and starting up a new cartoon was the perfect segue. Finding Jaz’s stream was...honestly a life saver. How could it not have been, when it brought him someone as great as Blue? They’d been screaming at each other for a while (and Keith would have made the first move if Blue hadn’t beat him to it), so it was cool to actually have a private message to…well, scream at each other in private in.

They were in a group chat with a bunch of other people, but it was oddly satisfying to have a conversation to themselves. And now that he’d seen what Blue actually looked like? _Hot damn_. Keith was blown away. He’d caught a glimpse of Blue’s general appearance from the occasional cosplay photo, but those didn’t even come close to doing him justice. He assumed the picture Blue sent him was one he’d taken a while ago, given that it was backlit by sunlight and at a park instead of at a bar, but that just gave him an accurate picture of Blue’s flawless tan skin and deep blue eyes…

Holy shit.

And Blue thought _he_ was cute? That seemed impossible. Every time he looked in the mirror, he just saw this scruffy, dark-haired vampire child that had bags the color of charcoal under his eyes. He was positive that Blue would change his mind once he actually _saw_ a picture, but at least he could revel in the moment until that day came. 

He was laying on his back in bed, conjuring up Blue’s face in his mind, when he heard his Tumblr message alert go off. Confused, he grabbed blindly for his phone and held it up above his face. He opened it to find another message from Blue.

\-----

 **littleboyblue**  
Heyyyyooo sorry it’s late but I just wanted to say that I know i sent you pics on here saved from Snapchat but if you wanna stalk me there my snap name is @thebiguy soooo ttfn sorry to bug you byeeee

\-----

Keith knew his entire body was probably the color of a tomato, given the fact that searing heat rushed through him from head to toe the minute he saw the message. _Holy shit_ , he thought, _Blue wants to Snapchat me_. He was terrified. Because if he followed Blue on Snapchat, that meant that Blue would follow _him_ on Snapchat, and inevitably see what he looked like. Was he emotionally prepared for that? He decided to balk and just send a “ _ha ha, cool. Night!_ ” In response. He felt like an asshole, but come on, how the fuck is he supposed to respond to that?? 

He sighed heavily, flipping over so his face was smushed into his pillow. Man, was he going to have a story to tell Pidge tomorrow. He felt sleep start to overtake him, and he hoped that this time, his dreams would be filled with a certain cute Cuban boy instead of the nightmares that usually plagued him. 

***

 _BANG_. “Mom holy FUCK!” 

The shout came from Keith’s living room, scaring the crap out of him and making him tumble out of bed onto the floor. 

Scrabbling, Keith scrubbed the sleep out of his eyes and blinked up at the small figure standing above him, partially obscured by shadow. “Pidge?” He asked, voice gravelly from disuse. “What the fuck?”

“JAZ IS GOING TO BE AT THE CON,” Pidge shouted, reaching down and shaking Keith by the shoulders. “Do you know what this means??”

Keith was limp as he was shaken like a leaf. “What?” He finally was able to ask once Pidge had let him flop back onto the ground. 

“WE MAY GET TO MEET THEM!” Keith winced at the loud cry so close to his ear and reached out to push Pidge’s face away from his face. 

“It’s like, seven a.m., Pidge, why are you even here?” Keith groaned, reaching up and grabbing the blanket hanging off the bed so he could hide from the blinding overhead light. “I’m glad you’re so excited, but I’m dying.”

Pidge tried to snatch the blanket, but Keith was too quick—he had a vice-like grip on the fleece and he was _not_ going to give it up that easily. “Keith—” Pidge grunted, trying to wrest the fabric out of his hands “—get _up!_ ”

“No, I’m going to die here!” Keith shouted, groping blindly for his pillow, so he could whack them in the face, “leave me _be!_ Back, demon! Begone!”

Pidge hissed at him and tried to dodge each blow until one finally hit them square in the nose. “OW FUCK!” They yelled, kicking Keith in the shin, “that hurt, asshole!”

“Well you shouldn’t try to attack me when I’m vulnerable,” Keith replied haughtily, “I could have been _naked_ , for all you knew.”

“We both know you get cold if you don’t sleep in more than a shirt and pants, dummy,” Pidge said, sticking out their tongue. 

“...It’s concerning how much information you have on me,” Keith mused, pushing himself to a sitting position. “Now I’m wide awake, so _you’re welcome_. What’s this about Jaz being at the con? Like, the con _this weekend?_ ”

“ _Yes!_ They said that they were able to share a booth with someone else last minute and _they’re coming here!!!_ ” Pidge screeched, and Keith had to cover his delicate ears.

“How is your voice not gone? You just keep screaming,” Keith grumbled, looking up at them with a grimace. 

“But we’re still going, right?” Pidge asked in earnest. “You didn’t just change your mind last minute and decide you wanted to stay in your cave?”

Keith looked at them like they were the most ridiculous thing he’d ever seen. “Of course I’m still going, I’m not an idiot. I spent _money_ on those tickets.”

“Oh, rather than gold pieces,” Pidge mocked, holding out a hand for Keith to grab. After pulling him to his feet, Pidge resumed their hummingbird-like movement around the room, unable to contain their excitement. “I can’t believe it, I _worship_ them. I just wanna cry. Remember that one time I commissioned them? Oh my god, I literally started sobbing in the parking lot when I got the file.” Pidge was talking a mile a minute, and Keith could barely process anything that was coming out of their mouth. 

He decided to just nod and “mhmm” every other second as his brain struggled to exit the fog left over from sleep; opening his phone, he realized he’d not closed out of the Tumblr app. 

His eyes widened as the topic of conversation the night before came rushing back to him, and he whirled on Pidge, gripping their shoulders. “ _Pidge_ ,” he said very seriously. “Blue gave me his Snapchat.”

Pidge blinked at him. “Wait, like…”

“ _Yeah_.”

“Like, the guy you’ve been pining after? That Blue?” Pidge prodded. 

“Yeah, _that_ Blue,” Keith replied. 

“Blue, as in the guy you scream at during every single stream? Where you both yell ‘ _SAME’_ at everything?” They continued. 

Keith shook them by the shoulders. “ _Yes._ ”

Pidge grinned at him. “Nice. So did you send him a dick pic?”

“MOTHER– Pidge I did _not send him any picture because I do not know how to handle this situation,_ ” Keith cried, covering his face in mortification. 

“There, there,” Pidge replied, standing on their tippy-toes to pat him on the head. “It’s okay. You’ll drum up the courage to send him a dick pic some day.”

“What is it with you and dick pics???” Keith asked incredulously. “I’m pretty sure you’d cry if you got one.”

“Um, I have gotten one, and I _did_ cry,” they replied, crossing their arms. “But that’s _me_ we’re talking about. I’m the last person who would enjoy that.” Pidge pasted a shit-eating grin on their face and nudged him with their elbow. “You on the other hand…” 

Keith yelled, reaching for the pillow to smack them again. “Let it go, Pidge!”

“NEVER!” They screeched, running out of the bedroom, flailing their arms. 

Keith dragged a hand down his face and groaned; he glanced again at his phone and blushed. _I’ll just...sit on this information for now_ , he thought, locking and pocketing his phone before following to the kitchen. He exited the hallway just in time to see Pidge with their hand caught in a box of Froot Loops. He lunged at them while cereal went everywhere to the tune of “STOP STEALING MY FOOD!”

***

Lance was sitting upside down on his couch, humming to himself and playing Candy Crush while waiting for breakfast to be ready. His feet bopped to the rhythm of “Partition” as he tapped away, every so often punctuated with a soft _yesss_ when he completed a level. 

“Do you want toast?” Hunk called from the kitchen. 

Without moving, Lance replied, “Yup.” He was completely engrossed in the game, so laser-focused that he didn’t notice the shadow that had settled over him. 

“Ahem,” Hunk cleared his throat, jolting Lance out of his game play. He held up the plate in his hand. “Here you go,” he said, joining Lance on the couch while Lance righted himself and set his phone to the side. 

“Thank you, Hunk, light of my life,” Lance said, taking the plate and gingerly placing it in his lap. “I’m pretty sure I’d die without you.” 

“I think the only reason you’d die is because you’d do something stupid if I wasn’t there to be your impulse control,” Hunk mumbled around a bite of eggs. “You at least can cook for yourself.” 

Lance shrugged and crammed a toast half into his mouth. Crunching, he switched to his Tumblr app and groaned. “Wah did ay do viff to myself?” He said around the mouthful. He batted his eyelashes at an unamused Hunk. 

“I told you not to message him weird stuff,” his best friend replied, pursing his lips. “But _you_ didn’t listen to me.” 

“I was _drunk_ , Hunk.” Lance giggled a little. “Pff, that rhymed.” 

Hunk’s raised eyebrow sobered Lance up real quick, and he added, “I concede that I _probably_ should have listened to you.” 

Hunk nodded as if to say _“Well, there you go,”_ and Lance stuck out his tongue. Hunk grimaced. “Ugh, gross, don’t do that with food in your mouth." 

Lance narrowed his eyes and retracted his tongue. 

Hunk shook his head and said, “I thought I raised you better than this.” 

“You did, I just stopped listening to you. I’m in my angsty teenage years.” 

Hunk couldn’t suppress a chuckle at that, and Lance grinned. He looked back at his phone and ran his thumb over the screen, smudging it a little. “Do you think I should message him?” 

Hunk shrugged exaggeratedly, making an _I dunno noise._ Lance squinted at him. “That’s not helpful.” 

Hunk shrugged again, and Lance groaned. “I’m gonna do it,” he decided, fingers hovering over the keyboard. His face went slack, and he looked back up at Hunk. 

“What do I tell him?” 

All he got was another unhelpful shrug, so he set his plate down, grabbed a pillow and wrapped himself around it like a koala as he glared at the screen. His face lit up and he chirped, “Oh, I got it.” 

\---- 

**littleboyblue**  
What’s shakin, bacon?

\----

Hunk looked over Lance’s shoulder and gave him the slow blink. “Really?” He asked. 

Lance clicked his tongue and gave him the finger guns. “I’m charming, I know.”

Hunk got up from the couch with a grunt and trudged to the kitchen, calling over his shoulder, “Charming, right...like that one guy in Shrek.” 

Lance gasped and placed a hand on his chest, offended. “How _dare_ you! I am _ten times_ the man he was!”

“Lance, you’re comparing yourself to a cartoon character—I don’t think that’s saying much of anything.”

Before Lance could state his rebuttal, his phone chimed. Scrambling to open it, he shouted “HA!” 

\----

 **redlikerage**  
Nothin’ much, hot stuff, hbu

\----

Holding the phone out triumphantly, he cried, “See?? I _AM_ charming!”

Hunk leaned over the counter to squint at the phone. “Whatever makes you feel better, Carol.”

Lance ignored him, grinning as he typed out a reply. 

***

Keith held out the phone like it was about to bite him, eyes squinched shut. “Okay, I sent it—god, why do I even listen to you?”

“Because, without me you would be hopelessly lost,” Pidge replied smugly, sitting cross-legged on Keith’s living room floor. 

“But what if he thinks it’s too much? Or lame?” Keith said, panic building inside him. “Oh shit, he’s gonna think I’m such a loser.”

Pidge swung their head around to give him a Look. “Seriously, Keith? Have you _read_ the shit he sends you? He’s going to eat this up.” They crawled over to him and batted their eyelashes. “Would I lie to you?”

“Yes, actually,” Keith replied, using his index finger to push their forehead away. “You’ve lied to me like, eleven times _this morning_.”

Pidge rocked back onto their heels and pursed their lips. “Okay, bad example.”

“I think that’s actually a _good_ example,” Keith grumbled, turning his phone over anxiously in his hands. The alert tone went off, startling him, and he nearly threw it across the room. 

“Cool your jets, Skippy, _geez,_ ” Pidge said, returning to their cross-legged position. “You’re gonna give yourself a hernia.”

Keith glared at them before swiping the phone open to check his messages. “Holy shit,” he breathed, “you were right.”

\----

 **littleboyblue**  
Nothin much, just wondering how you like your eggs in the morning ( ͡° ͜ʖ ͡°)

\----

Pidge cackled behind him, and he swatted at their face. “Shushushush, let me think,” he said, wracking his brain for a good response. 

“You should tell him ‘ _Over hard, but that’s not just how I like my eggs,_ ’” Pidge said, skittering away from any potential retaliation Keith might attempt. “What?? It’s a good response!”

“It’s _too_ good—he’ll know I have help,” Keith mused, furrowing his eyebrows. After a few seconds he sighed in resignation. “...Okay, I can’t come up with anything better than that.” Plucking up his courage, he replied:

\----

 **redlikerage**  
Over hard, but that’s not just how I like my eggs.  
*wink*

 **littleboyblue**  
A;lsdgkhf;’aseg’hlfkj  
My friend just said, “HOW DARE HE LIKE EGGS OVER HARD”  
PFffff  
Okay okay okay, this convo just went down-  
Me: *chokes* “look at what he just said”  
Roomie: *makes flipping table gesture* “How DARE he like eggs over hard?? He comes into MY HOUSE--”  
Me: “BUT DADDY I LOVE HIM”  
Roomie: “No son of mine--WAIT...never say that to me again.”

 **redlikerage**  
Pfffffffffffft

 **littleboyblue**  
Amazing  
11/10  
However you may have just caused an insurmountable rift between me and my best friend  
So  
...you may want to start running.

 **redlikerage**  
O.o  
Uh oh

 **littleboyblue**  
┐(‘～`;)┌ if he murders you don’t say I didn’t try to warn you

 **redlikerage**  
Really? He’d murder me over my taste in eggs?

 **littleboyblue**  
He’s killed for less.  
Jk but  
...i wouldn’t push it  
I’m more of an over easy man, myself.

 **redlikerage**  
Fair enough.

 **littleboyblue**  
….hunk gets a little Gordon Ramsay sometimes when it comes to food  
No joke, he yelled “where’s the lamb sauce” one Christmas  
*iconic*

 **redlikerage**  
That’s incredible  
I think I love him

 **littleboyblue**  
Wait  
No  
I take it back he’s a horrible trash monster

 **redlikerage**  
Hi, yes, I’d like to make an exchange

 **littleboyblue**  
NOOOOOO

 **redlikerage**  
ᕕ( ᐛ )ᕗ  
**littleboyblue**  
Fuckkkkkkk  
I take it backkkkk  
Plssss  
I need uuuuu  
Redddddd  
Nuuuuuu  
**redlikerage**  
Geez don’t have a crap attack

 **littleboyblue**  
YOU DON’T HAVE A CRAP ATTACK

 **redlikerage**  
...you haven’t seen bob’s burgers have you

 **littleboyblue**  
Can’t say I have

 **redlikerage**  
...we’re breaking up

 **littleboyblue**  
Wha  
Wha _image.gif sent_

 **redlikerage**  
Did you seriously just send me lemongrab

 **littleboyblue**  
….  
Maybe

 **redlikerage**  
Okay i liek you again’

 **littleboyblue**  
Liek

 **redlikerage**  
...dammit.

 **littleboyblue**  
You’re cute *wink wonk*

 **redlikerage**  
911 i’d like to report a murder  
It’s me  
I got murdered

 **littleboyblue**  
Spoiler alert

 **redlikerage**  
Glenn dies

 **littleboyblue**  
GASP  
BITCH U DID NOT  
HE DIDN’T DESERVE TO DIE

 **redlikerage**  
He died on my birthday

 **littleboyblue**  
...my condolences.

 **redlikerage**  
It’s okay  
He’s in a better place now  
Voice acting in a booth

 **littleboyblue**  
True.  
Arguably more fun  
You can wear pajamas, or so i’ve heard.

 **redlikerage**  
………  
I’m changing careers

 **littleboyblue**  
What was your career in the first place?

 **redlikerage**  
Space

 **littleboyblue**  
...space?  
Like..just space

 **redlikerage**  
Yup

 **littleboyblue**  
That's..ambitious

 **redlikerage**  
I'm kidding I wanna work for NASA.  
And prove they faked the moon landing

 **littleboyblue**  
You  
I’m sorry  
I must have heard incorrectly  
You wouldn’t happen to be one of those conspiracy theorists, would you?

 **redlikerage**  
ᕕ( ᐛ )ᕗ  
Conspiracy? More like truth

 **littleboyblue**  
Good god  
What have I gotten myself into

 **redlikerage**  
Idk but it’s on mah blog  
You should’ve left when you could’ve left.

 **littleboyblue**  
Curse your adorable nature  
Enraptured me

 **redlikerage**  
That escalated quickly

 **littleboyblue**  
Ha cha chaaaa  
The secret is out  
I’m extra af

 **redlikerage**  
Would it be weird to say that I liked it?

 **littleboyblue**  
Idk  
Is it weird?  
Is anything weird?  
You tell me, juggie

 **redlikerage**  
I regret everything

 **littleboyblue**  
Please tell me you have short hair and wear a beanie

 **redlikerage**  
I only have one of those things  
And you’ve seen the beanie

 **littleboyblue**  
Do NOT  
Pleas for the love of god

**redlikerage**

**littleboyblue**  
NOOOOOOO  
YOU HAVE A MULLET  
WHY GOD

 **redlikerage**  
Wow  
I’m scared to show you what my face looks like now

 **littleboyblue**  
Wait no

 **redlikerage**  
Too late

 **littleboyblue**  
A;lkdghas’lkfd nuuuuu  
Red pls  
I wanna see ur cute face  
Pls  
Pls  
Pls  
Ols  
Pls* fuck

 **redlikerage**  
Ols

 **littleboyblue**  
-_-

 **redlikerage**  
:D

 **littleboyblue**  
I hate you  
A little

 **redlikerage**  
ᕕ( ᐛ )ᕗ  
Too bad u think i’m cute

 **littleboyblue**  
You used “u” instead of you  
Am i a bad influence  
Pls say yes

 **redlikerage**  
Oh no  
I’m turning into you

 **littleboyblue**  
I hate to break it to you red  
But we were the same *all along*  
~ooooooo~

 **redlikerage**  
Womp

 **littleboyblue**  
Indeed.  
Oki well i’m gonna take a shower, toodleooooo

 **redlikerage**  
Bye  
Have a nice time

 **littleboyblue**  
Pfff thanks  
Ttyl

 **redlikerage**  
Lol bye

\----

Lance was just about to fully lose himself, body and soul, in the warm water, when a thought hit him like a thunderbolt. 

He almost slipped in the shower as he scrambled to poke his head out the bathroom door to yell at Hunk—

“HUNK! Should I ask him what his name is???”

He could hear metal and glass clinking in the sink momentarily before footsteps headed his way. 

Hunk neared the doorway, only looking up after he’d already started talking: “Lance what are you—AHH WHY ARE YOU NAKED?!”

“I WAS IN THE SHOWER!”

“Why are you talking to _me_ , then??”

“I had an epiphany!”

Hunk stood there with a hand over his eyes, praying Lance would just close the door. 

God did not answer.

“Lance, I’m gonna really appreciate it more if you just closed the door and either told me from in there, or waited until you actually had clothes on,” Hunk said, sighing deeply. 

Lance pouted as he closed the door with a _click._ “Fine,” he said, loud enough to be heard on the other side. “Question remains—should I ask?”

He heard a loud groan from the other side of the door and winced a little. “If you want, I guess. It just takes away a little more of the mystery though,” he heard Hunk say. “But it also adds a little intimacy? I dunno, it’s your call.”

Lance grumbled nothing in particular and let his head fall forward into the door. “That’s not helpful.”

“Sorry, buddy,” came the response, and he heard Hunk’s footsteps recede. 

Huffing at the water slowly dripping into his eyes, he carefully stepped back into the shower, realizing it was fucking _cold_ in that bathroom. He really should have just toweled off, but there were more important things. He felt nervous, but also curious...What exactly _was_ Red’s real name? 

As he finished his routine, he decided he was going to ask. What was the worst that could happen?

\----

 **littleboyblue**  
Hey red  
can i ask a question?

 **redlikerage**  
Sure, shoot

 **littleboyblue**  
This may be weird, though, so feel free not to answer

 **redlikerage**  
Blue, it’s fine. :) what’s up?

 **littleboyblue**  
Well, we’ve been talking for a little while, at least in the group chat and stream and stuff, and I was just wondering…  
What’s your real name?

 **redlikerage**  
Oh

 **littleboyblue**  
See i knew it was dumb  
Just don’t worry about it  
Mystery remains intact *finger guns*

 **redlikerage**  
No, no, no, I don’t mind  
it’s Keith.

 **littleboyblue**  
Oh! Uh, cool :D  
That’s a nice name  
Edgy ;)  
Wow okay not doing that face again  
Creepy

 **redlikerage**  
Pff  
...what’s *your* name?

 **littleboyblue**  
My name?  
Oh  
It’s Lance :D

 **redlikerage**  
Lance  
Cool :p

 **littleboyblue**  
The curtain has been lifted  
Secret is out

 **redlikerage**  
You got it

 **littleboyblue**  
So, can I call you Keith?

 **redlikerage**  
I mean in PM sure  
But id prefer if you didn’t in group chat  
Just cuz  
Ya know

 **littleboyblue**  
Oh i gotcha  
Privacy and all that  
*finger guns*

 **redlikerage**  
Haha yeah  
Thanks

 **littleboyblue**  
You can call me whatever wherever  
Or whenever ( ͡° ͜ʖ ͡°)

 **redlikerage**  
Aaaaand the moment’s gone

 **littleboyblue**  
Oh that’s a lie and you know it

 **redlikerage**  
Ha yeah

 **littleboyblue**  
:3c

 **redlikerage**  
You're so weird lol. But in a good way.  
Anyway I'm rly sorry but I gtg  
My friend is yelling at me to play video games with them.  
Talk to you soon?

 **littleboyblue**  
Absolutely. 

***

“I’m gonna do it,” Keith said, staring himself down in the mirror. It'd been a few days since Lance dropped his Snapchat handle in Keith’s lap, and he’d finally decided to take action. He'd managed to wrestle his hair into something that didn't resemble a bird’s nest (after an embarrassingly long amount of time), tried his best to cover up those charcoal eye bags, and put on a loose plaid button down over a black t-shirt. 

It was time to send Lance a selfie. 

Keith couldn't remember a time he had been more nervous—not even when he had an interview with a branch of _NASA_ , for crying out loud. His gut was in knots, his heart was _pounding_ , and he was about three seconds from breaking out into stress sweats. _I'm losing my mind. It's finally happened_ , he thought. _This is it. This is how I die._

Smacking himself in the face to psych himself up, he took a deep breath, stomped outside to get better light, and held up his front-facing camera. 

He almost closed his eyes before taking the photo, but realized at the last minute— _he needed to keep his eyes open_. Groaning, he grumbled to himself, “Why is this so freaking _difficult_??” 

He was photogenic. (Well, so he’d been _told._ ) He was good-looking. His hair was great, his face looked...not as terrible as it usually did, and his outfit was _way_ more exciting than his usual black shirt, black leggings, and black boots! He could do this! 

But the longer he stared at the phone...the more he started to panic. _What if he doesn't think I'm cute?? What if I'm not his type?_ Thoughts raced through his head, threatening to choke him out. Would his personality be enough to compensate? Did he even _have_ a personality? Lance was so charismatic, and he was so...bleh. 

Frowning, he glared at his own image and grit his teeth. _Dammit, if he's brave enough to send me a selfie, by gum_ I’m _brave enough to send_ him _a selfie_ , he decided, fueled by a rekindled resolve. He schooled his features into what he _hoped_ was an attractive face as the camera _click_ ed, typed in Lance’s Snapchat handle, closed his eyes, and smashed the little blue arrow with every ounce of courage he could muster. 

He then proceeded to sit on his front stoop and _stare_ at the little solid red box until it became an outline. 

It was _agonizing._

“Geez, how long does it take this guy to answer a Snapchat?” He wondered aloud, nervous tension building in his entire body. His eyebrows had been cinched together so tightly during his wait that it took a Herculean effort to relax his face. 

His breath caught in his throat as he watched the Snap be opened, then made some inhuman noise when the impossible happened: 

_Lance took a screenshot!_

“Oh shit—I'm out,” Keith croaked, nearly dropping his phone on the concrete; the fragile device was only saved by what some would call “Spidey-like reflexes.” ( _Lance_ , he thought. _Lance would call them that._ )

He barely avoided completely slipping on the threshold as he stumbled into his apartment; his head felt like it was both full of cotton and about to explode. 

Grabbing handfuls of dark, messy hair, he yanked and repeated to himself, “He took a screenshot, oh my god, he _took_ a screenshot!” He paced back and forth so much he almost made himself dizzy, and finally just forced himself to collapse on the couch. In his tizzy, he had failed to hear the return notification and was a few minutes behind when opening Lance’s reaction snap. 

His jaw dropped when he opened it and saw a picture of a blurry figure that looked like he was clutching his chest, with the words “I’M DEAD” superimposed at the bottom. 

“Wait, does this mean…?” He whispered to himself, typing into the chat:

_> ...did you like it? _

The response was almost immediate; it was a picture again, Lance’s head tipped back and his palm turned to the sky with the caption “You are the most beautiful person I've ever seen and I have been blessed.”

Keith’s heart flip-flopped in his chest, and he was powerless to stop the squeal that burst from his lips. He was on cloud nine, and almost a little lightheaded from the sudden release of stress he hadn’t realized he’d been carrying. It was such a relief to know that Lance thought he was cute, too. He kicked his feet into the air with joy, opening the messaging app and tapping away, blushing furiously at the merciless flirting he was bombarded with therein. 

Lance was going to be the death of him, but honestly, Keith didn’t mind. 

***

Lance stepped into the convention center and was practically vibrating with excitement. He had traveled quite a long way to be able to attend, and the chance to meet Jaz just made the trip all the more worthwhile. He hadn’t heard from Keith in a few days, but he just assumed he was busy with work or something. From what he understood, he was waiting to hear back from NASA on the results of his interview, and in the mean-time was working frequently at a coffee shop. He imagined it took up quite a bit of his time. 

He’d heard from Pidge that they were going to the con separately, but would meet up with him and Hunk later. He had no idea how the two men would find them, but he believed in their tracking abilities. He wandered around arm-in-arm with Hunk (partially so he wouldn’t get swept away in the crowd), absent-mindedly sipping on a drink as he surveyed the spectacle. 

Lance’s phone vibrated, and his eyes quickly swept over the message from Pidge. He nudged Hunk and said, “Hey, they’re already over by Jaz’s booth.”

Hunk nodded, and they pushed through the crowd together, making their way across the floor to the artists booths. Lance was unsurprised by the large number of fans lined up at the table; frowning in concentration, he tried to find the shortest member of his friend group as quickly as he could. 

After a few moments, Lance finally found Pidge; they were standing facing him, talking to someone with black hair that was tied back in a ponytail. Once they spotted Lance, Pidge waved frantically to try to get his attention. “Hey!” They shouted, “over here!”

“Hey!” Lance shouted back, waving enthusiastically back. He disentangled himself from Hunk just when Pidge’s companion turned in the direction of the commotion. Lance’s eyes fell onto their face, widening as they drank in the sight before him. “ _Keith?_ ” Lance said, incredulous. “Wait, _Keith?_ Is that you?” 

The man blinked at him, obviously stunned, but didn’t respond. Lance’s heart thudded in his chest so hard he thought he would burst into a puff of ash. He tried to take deep breaths to calm himself, but that only brought him dangerously close to hyperventilating. The harder he tried to slow his heart rate, the more difficult it became, and every second that ticked by as he waited for a response felt like an eon. If he had to wait any longer, Lance was sure he would die. 

***

“Lance?” Keith asked, breathless. It took an extremely strong force of will to make himself move in the direction of the lanky man headed his way. “W-what are you doing here?” 

He finally was able to take a few steps in Lance’s direction, noticing how he visibly relaxed when reassured by Keith’s voice. Lance was still looking at him like he was a rabbit that popped out of a hat—it was as if he was afraid Keith was just a hallucination brought on by a caffeine high and exhaustion. 

“Keith?” Lance croaked again, holding out his hand in a desperate attempt to confirm Keith’s presence there, right in front of him. “I...you’re here with Pidge?” 

Right. Pidge. Keith looked down at his petite best friend and nodded dumbly. Furrowing his eyebrows in confusion, he asked, “You know Pidge?”

Lance spluttered. “Better question is, how do _you_ know them?” He demanded, freaking Keith out a little. It took him a few seconds to compose himself before replying.

“I’ve known Pidge since infancy. What I don’t understand is how _you_ know them?” Keith inquired, trying hard to prevent a tone of interrogation from lacing his voice. Unfortunately, that wasn’t something he was able to achieve. 

Lance’s mouth flapped open and closed like a fish as he tried to compose himself. He was seeing Keith for the first time in person, and could tell they were both so shocked that they didn't know how to function. 

Gears turned in Keith's head as he processed the scene, pieces clicking into place as something dawned on him—

“Wait, Pidge, you _knew?”_ Keith asked, eyes growing to the size of saucers. He locked eyes with Lance, who looked like he was about to spontaneously combust. “You knew we were talking and you didn't say anything?”

Lance whirled on Pidge, mouth agape. “Wait, wait, wait. You follow Jaz. We follow Jaz. You're friends with both of us, and by extension, know what our Tumblr URLs are.” His eyes moved back and forth frenetically as he tried to puzzle everything out. After a moment, his head whipped up so he could meet Pidge’s eyes. “You knew the entire time that we were talking?” 

Pidge scrunched their eyebrows together. “Don't be so quick to get on my ass about this—to be honest, I didn't know exactly why you wanted to come today, Lance. I just now put the pieces together,” they replied. “Granted, I did know you both while you were talking, but it never occurred to me that you were the same Blue that Keith was talking to.”

“Lance probably gave you his tumblr main, Pidge,” Hunk piped up. “He uses a different handle for Twitch, too.” They gave him a confused look, to which Hunk replied, “His family gets in his business frequently,” and shrugged. “He has like, seven tumblrs.”

Lance put a hand on his chin thoughtfully. “That’s true...So I guess they didn’t know Blue was me until you saw me and realized it was me,” he said, looking at Keith. Keith looked a little puzzled, but ultimately nodded. 

“So, uh, what now?” Pidge asked, waving their hand to get both boys’ attention. “Should Hunk and I leave you guys alone, or…?”

Keith looked at Lance with wide eyes and a rapidly reddening face. “Uh…” 

“Give us a minute, Pidge—we’ll come back and find you,” Lance said, taking Keith by the arm and walking him away from the long line of people. Keith followed dumbly along, still flabbergasted by the whole encounter. 

“Wait, Lance, wha–” Keith said, nearly tripping over his own feet as Lance searched for a slightly less crowded area for the two of them to talk. Finally, they found a little nook that seemed to be empty, and Lance promptly sat on the ground cross-legged. 

He gestured for Keith to sit, and Keith joined him, hugging his knees. 

“So,” Lance said unceremoniously.

“So…” Keith replied, already feeling himself turning a bright crimson. 

“You’re here.”

“Mhmm.”

Lance kept _staring_ at him. “I’m here,” he continued.

“That’s apparent,” Keith replied, trying to keep his voice as even as he could manage.

“Is this...not a big deal to you?” Lance asked, and Keith could hear him deflate a little. 

Keith opened his mouth to speak, but Lance beat him to the punch– “I mean, if it’s not a big deal to you, and you just wanted to be friends or whatever, that’s cool—totally fine, even. I just...uh...This is a pretty big deal to _me_ , anyway, and even though this was the _last_ thing I expected happening today, I am excited to finally meet you in person,” he said. His tone had changed completely; he went from lively and overexcited to deflated and insecure, just like that. His reply made Keith’s heart feel like it went through a meat grinder. 

Lance looked like he was about to continue, so Keith reached out and put a tentative hand on his arm to stop him. Lance looked up, eyes a little glassy, and Keith focused on him very seriously. 

“Lance,” he said. “It’s a big deal. It’s a _huge_ deal to me.” Lance’s eyes widened fractionally, and Keith took that as a cue to explain further. “I’m just...a little in shock. Like you said, this was the last thing I expected happening today, and while wow, is it a happy accident, I’m just a little overwhelmed.” 

“You know I–” Keith laughed a little “–well, I guess you wouldn’t know, huh? I get a little freaked out in crowds, and this was a huge wrench thrown into things, and Pidge didn’t even _tell_ me they were meeting you—they were just like ‘ _oh yeah, I know a few people who are gonna be here, so I may say hi to them at some point_ ’, or whatever, so I was just...not prepared.” Keith cocked his head and continued, “But that doesn’t mean that I’m not excited to meet you.”

Lance’s eyes practically bugged out of his head. “Are you sure?” He asked. “If you aren’t excited, you can _tell_ me, you know? I can take it.” 

If Keith was sure of anything, he was absolutely sure that Lance would shatter in a million pieces if Keith told him that.

He smiled at Lance and squeezed his leg gently. “I’m sure, Blue,” he said. Lance smiled back at him, and boy, was that the prettiest thing Keith had seen all day. Scratch that, Lance laughing in relief was the prettiest thing he’d seen, and Keith wanted to emblazon the look on Lance’s face in his memory forever. 

Honestly, he was glad this meeting wasn’t planned. He wasn’t sitting around for ages, waiting for a chance to see each other, giving him time to worry or overthink things. This meeting was organic, unorganized, and exactly what he could have hoped for. 

Lance was even more amazing than he’d realized; the two sat for a while, talking about where they lived, how long it took them to get to the convention, and finding out they only lived only a few states away from each other. They would have talked longer, if not for the text alert Keith received from Pidge. 

Frowning, he clutched his phone and looked between the message and Lance. “They said we should stop making out and come back to the line—they’re almost to the front and they said they won’t wait for us if they meet Jaz first.” 

Lance rolled his eyes and commented, “That’s just like them, geez. We were literally just sitting here, too! Calm your butt, dude, seriously.”

Keith snickered a little, typing in a reply before leaning his head back against the wall behind him. Casually looking over at Lance, he lifted an eyebrow. “So we should tell them that nothing happened while we were over here, right? Since nothing did?” 

He was fishing. He _knew_ he was. But hey, it didn’t hurt to try, right? This may be the last time they get to see each other for a long while, and Keith was pretty dang certain he wanted to shove this guy up against the wall and make out with his face. 

With consent, of course. 

Unbidden, his ears began to heat up at the thought, and he noticed Lance’s expression turn to a puzzled one. _Uh oh_.

“Uh, buddy? You uh...you doing okay?” Lance asked, scooting a little closer to scrutinize Keith’s ears. 

_Go away!_ Keith thought desperately, _you are not helping this situation at all!!!_ Shifting a little, he prayed silently that Lance would just let it go. 

Yeah, Lance wasn’t gonna let it go.

“Wait…” he said, narrowing his eyes at Keith. “Are you…” His mouth dropped open as it dawned on him, then melted into a shit-eating grin. “You think I’m gooorgeous, you wanna kissss meee, you wanna huuuuuggg me,” he sang, and Keith shoved his face away. 

“NO! NOT THAT SONG!” He yelled, scrabbling away. A pair of long, skinny arms were too quick for him, though, and latched onto him like a vice. 

“You wanna love me, you wanna smoooooch meeee,” Lance kept singing, burying his nose in the crook of Keith’s neck, and Keith could help but start to giggle at the tickle of Lance’s breath against his skin. Lance just grinned wider, squeezing tighter until Keith stopped fighting and went limp in his arms.

Everything was great, until Keith realized two things:  
Lance was really, _really close_.  
_Lance said the “L” word._

Then he froze faster than a pickle dipped in liquid nitrogen. 

“Hey, uh, Lance?”

Lance hummed into his neck, seemingly oblivious to the _several_ things potentially wrong with this situation. 

“You’re really close, there,” Keith said, trying to resist the urge to squirm in his hold. 

“Mhmm, I am.” Lance’s eyelashes tickled Keith’s neck, distracting him momentarily before he continued. 

“And you, uh, you included ‘love’ in that song,” he finished, closing his eyes and staying as still as he could muster. 

Lance started a little, and his grip started to loosen slowly, like he was dealing with a frightened animal. “I’m sensing I did something wrong here,” he said, “and I’m not quite sure what, so I’m gonna let go, now.”

Keith blanched and tried to back-track. “Wait, no, okay, let’s not be hasty here—that’s not what I meant, I just wanted to make sure _you_ knew what you were doing, that’s all!” He babbled, panicking as the hold continued to loosen. 

“Letting go!” Lance stated promptly...before dropping him. 

Thankfully, they were both still on the ground, so it wasn’t a _drop_ per se, but the sentiment was clear: there would be no cradling that day. 

Keith let out a loud sigh that quickly devolved into such a loud groan that made some of the people passing by look over in concern. Giving them an apologetic look, Keith looked over at Lance apologetically. 

“That’s...ugh, that’s not what I meant,” he said, running a hand down his face, irritated with himself. “I didn’t want you to do anything that you didn’t want to do, just because _I_ wanted to do something.” 

“You know,” Lance mused, “that’s a pretty stupid thing for you to do.” Keith looked up at him in protest, only to see a smile creeping across that flawlessly tan face of his. “You could have, you know, just rolled with it. Because I was real close to smoochin’ ya.”

Keith buried his face in his hands and fell over onto one side. “Of course you were,” he mumbled, face reddening in embarrassment. “I’m a moron.”

“Yeah,” Lance replied, laughing at the look of indignation shot his way, “but that’s okay. I think you’re cute, regardless.”

Keith pushed himself up on one arm and pursed his lips. “I’m sorry I’m the _worst_ ,” he admitted. “I know I can be a little pushy, so I guess I overdid it on the overcompensating part.”

“Well, as long as that's the _only_ thing you’re overcompensating for,” Lance replied, winking. 

Keith looked at him in shock, then burst out laughing at the blush that crept over Lance’s cheeks at his own comment. “That was the worst thing I’ve ever heard in my entire life,” Keith said in between gulps of air. “I can’t believe...god, why do I like you, again?” He finally was able to catch his breath, only to have it snatched away by the look on Lance’s face. “What?”

“So...you actually like me? You don’t just think I’m cute or adorable or whatever,” Lance said. “Like, like-like me.”

“You just used ‘like’ three times in a row, Lance. That’s some Valley Girl shit right there.”

“Hey! I’m just _saying_ ,” Lance huffed, “I think that’s the first time you’ve come out and said that you like me.” He smirked, “Or better said, you liiiiiiiiiike me.” 

Keith covered his face with his hands and muttered, “Well, it’s true. I do like you, even if the reason why evades even me.” Lance could tell he was smiling widely underneath and felt relief wash over him. 

Scooting closer, Lance gently removed Keith’s hands from his face. Keith blinked at him owlishly, tense with anticipation when Lance finally asked, “Would it be okay if I kissed you?” 

“Wait...really?” Keith whispered, pupils blown and face pink. He was shaking, almost imperceptibly, and Lance hoped that was from excitement and not anxiety. 

Lance nodded as his eyes drifted down to Keith’s mouth. He was so close he could see the tiny freckles that dotted Keith’s face, and noticed a little one that was right at the corner of his bitten lips. He couldn’t hold back a smile as he leaned in; he could feel Keith’s breath ghost over his own mouth before their lips lightly brushed for the first time. 

It felt like a switch was suddenly flipped inside Keith; finally, he got to feel the sensation of Lance’s mouth on his—something for which he’d been waiting for what felt like an eternity—and he couldn’t help but thread his fingers through that curly brown hair and _grab_. 

Lance squeaked a little in surprise at the slightly aggressive nature of Keith’s kissing, but soon melted into him, relishing in the comfort he felt while in Keith’s arms. Little sparks danced over his skin at the confirmation that this meeting was everything he’d hoped it’d be and more. Briefly, the fear that this wouldn’t last flitted through his mind, but was drowned out by the taste of Keith’s mouth and the little sounds he made as their kiss deepened. 

After a few moments, the couple had to reluctantly separate for air, giving Pidge another chance to interrupt them with a text message. Keith groaned, accurately vocalizing Lance’s disappointment, before getting up and holding out a hand to help Lance to his feet. 

Pouting, Lance joined him, but refused to release Keith’s hand once he had stood. (Not that Keith minded.) The pair trudged back toward Jaz’s table, not quite ready to face the shit they’d both be getting from their best friends. Despite the impending ridicule, the two boys couldn’t keep dopey grins off their faces—they were riding the high of their first kiss like it was a party drug. 

“Ah, the lovebirds have returned,” Pidge quipped as Lance and Keith approached. They had two people in front of them in line. “You almost didn’t make it—I was just gonna leave you guys.”

“Pidge, come on,” Hunk chided. He looked at the pair apologetically. “No they wouldn’t have. I wouldn’t have let them.” 

“Buddy, you’re the best,” Lance said with a big grin as he gripped Hunk’s shoulder firmly. Hunk had already explained to the people behind them that the couple had to work some stuff out outside the line, and Lance was thankful that no one got openly upset at them for rejoining the line. 

The next thirty minutes of Keith and Lance's lives were a whirlwind of making sure Pidge didn’t jump out of their skin with excitement over meeting Jaz, trying not to faint over meeting their favorite fan artist, and attempting to keep their minds _off_ their recent relationship development. Afterward, the squad went to find themselves an early dinner and some sanity. 

Keith had a firm grip on Lance’s hand the entire time; he was so afraid that if he let go, this whole experience would end, and he just wasn’t ready for that. Falling for Lance was a surprise—a wonderful surprise—and he was terrified he’d blink and realize he’d dreamed this total encounter. Thankfully, Lance had his hand in a vice, too; it was reassuring that Lance seemed as desperate as he was for things to remain as he was. 

However, as with all things, the day had to come to an end, and Keith saw that he wasn’t the only one whose eyes were a little shiny when they kissed to say goodbye. It was chaste, but filled with longing and a tinge of sadness—neither of them knew when they’d see each other again, but they were in agreement that they _would._

The car rides back to their hotel and homes, respectively, were agonizing. 

“You’ll see him soon, bud. I know you will,” Hunk said, trying to reassure his best friend. Lance sat silently, staring out the window with dry tear-tracks down his face, and nodded. _It’s not a matter of if_ , he thought, _just of when._ They sped down the highway, heading back to their hotel on the outskirts of town. 

On the way to Keith’s apartment, Pidge reached over with a hand and poked him in the arm. “You gonna be okay?” They asked, keeping their eyes on the road. 

Keith sighed and shrunk up against the car door, hugging his knees. “I guess,” he whispered, eyes desperately searching the skyline for _some_ reassurance that they’d see each other soon. “Today was a lot.”

He was just about to sink into a personal pity party when his thoughts were interrupted by a buzzing noise. Furrowing his eyebrows in confusion, he pulled out his phone to a message from Lance. 

\-----

 **littleboyblue**  
Hey.

 **redlikerage**  
hey

 **littleboyblue**  
how are you holding up?

 **redlikerage**  
oh you know, just kind of dealing with things.

 **littleboyblue**  
i’m sorry  
It’s frustrating and SO not fair. :(

 **redlikerage**  
No kidding  
:/

 **littleboyblue**  
Can I see you again? I will literally drive all the way from FL to see you  
Like  
Tbh rly tempted to just stay in town and make the Holts let me bunk there

 **redlikerage**  
Wait what  
Don’t tease me like that

 **littleboyblue**  
No i’m not kidding. Hold on

 **littleboyblue**  
So i texted Colleen and she said i could stay so guess who’s gonna be flying back to FL next week instead  
This guyyyyyy

 **redlikerage**  
Wow going behind Pidge’s back and going straight for the mom, huh?

 **littleboyblue**  
okay, you know what? Pfff  
I know that they would just fake-barf and whatever so I decided to appeal to someone who actually likes me out of that family  
Colleen loves me like I’m one of her own.

 **redlikerage**  
Okay but she probably would rather have you, some days.  
You’re angelic compared to the gremlin

 **littleboyblue**  
I don’t know whether to be offended or not  
But i’ll choose to be flattered  
ANYWAY  
I was thinking  
It’s Texas

 **redlikerage**  
You mean “we’re in Texas”?

 **littleboyblue**  
Yea that  
You know what’s in Texas?  
Six Flags  
You know where we should have our first date?  
There.

 **redlikerage**  
L;ahead;lksdjf’ wait  
You wanna  
Go on a date??  
WE JUST MET THO

 **littleboyblue**  
Keith.  
Are you seriously saying that you’d rather wait until we’re both pining so hard we wanna die before actually having a date?  
Because hon  
I’m not into that sort of torture  
Like, spanking, whatever,  
But no thank to unnecessary suffering

 **redlikerage**  
...i don’t even know how to respond to that  
Okay, fine  
Yes, I want to go on a date with you  
Let’s go

 **littleboyblue**  
This weekend??????  
:D :D :D :D  
ᕕ( ᐛ )ᕗ  
Yessss gawd

 **redlikerage**  
Pfffffft you are so insufferable holy crap  
Yes, this weekend hahah

 **littleboyblue**  
Bitchin, okay, then I will see you there! I’m low key exhausted and think i’ll take a break in the astral plane ofr a little bit  
For

 **redlikerage**  
Ofr

 **littleboyblue**  
Dammit

 **redlikerage**  
( ͡° ͜ʖ ͡°)  
Okay, well, it was really, really great to meet you in person today. Today was amazing.  
Sleep well!  
<3

 **littleboyblue**  
<333333 nighty night red

\-----

_The following weekend._

\-----

 **littleboyblue**  
You ready??!  
;alsdgkha’kf  
I’m so fuckingggggg HYPE  
I’m almost there  
Btw  
To your house  
*i’m coming*  
Pffffff man i’m about to be  
Wow ok that was inappropriate i’m just too fucking EXCITEDalkhdf’sdf

 **redlikerage**  
wow  
Pls calm  
I’m excited too, don’t bust a nut  
(‘～`;) weirdo  
I’m almost ready, i think i’ll be done when you walk up.

 **littleboyblue**  
I”M SORY YI”M JSt EXCITED  
A;jlfgh’akdjs AHH  
Okay  
Calm  
Lance,  
Chill  
Ya gotta  
Don’t scare your boo thang

 **redlikerage**  
...you didn’t just call me your boo thang

 **littleboyblue**  
My lil potato crisp?  
My spicy wasabi pea?  
Spicy boi?  
My lovely man-person?  
(づ￣ ³￣)づ

 **redlikerage**  
……babe  
I’m gonna  
I’m gonna just run away if you don’t stop

 **littleboyblue**  
Klshd’gsklfh’ad YOU CALLED ME BABE  
YES  
THANK YOU GOD  
I HAVE BEEN BLESSED  
TOO BLESST TO BE STRESST

 **redlikerage**  
See  
This is why i can’t call you things like that  
You explode  
OKay, i’m ready  
Come and get mehhhh  
*finger guns*

 **littleboyblue**  
RUNNING UP THE STAIRS NOW

\-----

Lance practically kicked Keith’s door down the minute he heard the lock click, he was so excited. Finally, when it swung open, revealing his date, Lance’s heart caught in his throat and he choked a little on his own spit. 

Keith gave him a big ol’ smirk and winked at him, further exacerbating the traffic jam that had just taken place in Lance’s brain. 

“Take a picture—it’ll last longer,” Keith chirped, tangling his pinky in the hem of Lance’s shirt briefly before pulling him forward and into his arms. 

Lance was giggling like an idiot as he tumbled into the apartment, firmly planting a kiss on Keith’s lips before closing the door behind them. After all, they _could_ afford to waste a little time before heading out.


End file.
